Startups
Accelerators / Events / Health / Health tech / Pitches

DreamIt Health is putting these 6 companies in front of investors

From app-based nutrition coaching to a life-saving device called the hemafuse, here's what the new accelerator grads are pitching.

Members of the DreamIt Health Baltimore accelerator inside the new coworking space. (Photo by Stephen Babcock, file)
Whether looking to solve a global health issue or erasing a huge health IT barrier, DreamIt Health Baltimore’s second cohort showed a willingness to tackle big ideas.

There were a couple of pivots along the way, but the six companies arrived at Demo Day on Wednesday ready to present to a crowd of local luminaries on the first floor of the Power Plant Live building. The event marked the end of the 16-week accelerator program.
Many of the companies are already raising money, and DreamIt Health is looking to get them in front of a few people who might be able to help. With the end of the accelerator program in Baltimore, the companies are going on an investor roadshow with stops in New York, Boston and San Francisco. It’s the same road-trip formula DreamIt used with its most recent class in Philly.
Here’s what the companies had to say:

InsightMedi

Juan Gonzalez of InsightMedi. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)

Juan Gonzalez of InsightMedi. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


Hailing from Spain, InsightMedi’s Juan Gonzalez is used to speaking different languages. But the basis of the startup he cofounded doesn’t have to.
“An image knows no barrier of language or geographical location,” Gonzalez said.
InsightMedi is a social network for medical professionals to share images. That way, they can compare notes and best practices.
Gonzalez said the company already has a user base in countries around the world, and doubled its U.S. users during DreamIt Health. They even incorporated in the states. With the end of the accelerator, the company opened a $500,000 seed round.

·

Sisu Global Health

Carolyn Yarina of Sisu Global Health

Carolyn Yarina of Sisu Global Health. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


Sisu Global Health is looking to replace soup ladles and gauze. Those are the tools that are often used during emergency blood transfusions in developing countries. Sisu’s device, called the hemafuse, is designed for autotransfusions. That’s a process where blood is pumped from someone suffering from an internal hemorrhage for reuse. The process is necessary in places where there is a shortage of donated blood for medical care.
“In the U.S., we take access to blood for granted,” said Sisu CEO Carolyn Yarina.
The company’s three members came to Baltimore for DreamIt Health from Grand Rapids, Mich. The company is also raising a $1 million seed round, $400,000 of which is already committed. From here, they’re headed to Zimbabwe to pilot the product, as Africa as seen as a place with great need for the product.

·

Baton

Baton's Zack Goldberg

Baton’s Zack Goldberg. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


Baltimore-based Baton knows that many medical errors are preventable.
The startup, which arose out of Johns Hopkins, is most interested in addressing the reason why. “Eighty percent of preventable medical errors are attributed to breakdowns in communication,” said Baton President Zack Goldberg. Baton’s platform is designed to keep information available when doctors and nurses hand off patients. The platform is designed to be available across devices, and holds information from electronic medical records, as well as information that is not.
Goldberg cofounded the startup with Harry Goldberg, an assistant dean in JHU’s biomedical engineering school, and Stephen Milner, the head of the Johns Hopkins Burn Center. After completing a pilot at Johns Hopkins, the company signed a contract with Sinai Hospital. The company is aiming to sign on 20 medical centers by the end of the year.

·

Nomful

Thomas Gorczynski of Nomful

Thomas Gorczynski of Nomful. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


The Chicago-based startup Nomful wants everyone to have access to a nutrition coach. The app provides access to a registered dietitian who can provide support around eating right. Instead of starting right in with calorie-counting, the client starts by sending Instagram photos of their meal. It also allows integration with data from personal trainers.
The business model is based on a subscription model with health clubs, who would promote Nomful to members. During DreamIt Health, the company piloted their product with three Maryland Athletic Club (MAC) locations. With the end of the accelerator program, 50 trainers will be using the product. The company is also looking to raise a seed round.

·

Decisive Health

Jonathan Shih of Decisive Health

Jonathan Shih of Decisive Health. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


Coming to Baltimore from San Francisco, Decisive Health wants to bring the convenience of Kayak.com to healthcare, said founder Jonathan Shih. The app allows healthcare consumers to find and compare options for healthcare in a given area. Along with location, the app filters options based on service, insurance and location.
“We have accomplished in two minutes what used to take an entire week,” Shih said.
The startup is beginning with MRIs, which are fairly apples-to-apples cost-wise. Shih said the app can be useful for imaging facilities that often don’t have filled appointment spots. The company makes money from subscriptions. Its first market is New York, where the company has received data from 77 facilities. Going forward, the startup is looking to sign up more facilities and raise $750,000.

·

Redox Engine

Nico Skievaski of Redox Engine

Nico Skievaski of Redox Engine. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)


“The healthcare industry is decades behind the efficiency gains that computers and the internet brought nearly every other industry,” said Redox Engine’s Nico Skievaski.
That’s because making health systems work with electronic health records (EHR) requires a separate integration for each system. Founded by former employees of health records software giant Epic, the Madison, Wis.-based startup makes the systems interoperable with EHR.
DreamIt Health Baltimore’s Jason Hardebeck prefaced Skievaski’s presentation by saying that Redox isn’t the only company working to solve the interoperability issued. But Hardebeck said DreamIt Health believes Redox will be the team to succeed.
The startup is raising $1.6 million.

Companies: Sisu Global Health / DreamIt Health
Engagement

Join the conversation!

Find news, events, jobs and people who share your interests on Technical.ly's open community Slack

Trending

How venture capital is changing, and why it matters

What company leaders need to know about the CTA and required reporting

Why the DOJ chose New Jersey for the Apple antitrust lawsuit

A veteran ship's officer describes how captains work with harbor pilots to avoid deadly collisions

Technically Media